Geibel named head coach as Dalton football eyes stability
Reid Geibel
The tradition-laden Dalton football program was in need of stability, with the district searching for its third head coach in as many years.
Reid Geibel had always aspired to lead a varsity football program and had known most of the current upperclassmen since they were in grade school.
Geibel being hired earlier this month as the Bulldogs’ new head coach was the perfect solution for an imperfect situation.
Dalton administrators said Geibel emerged as the clear choice for the job during the interview process.
“Coach Geibel stood out with his vision for the program and his heartfelt dedication to not only building a successful team, but also shaping well-rounded individuals,” Dalton Superintendent Steve Watkins said. “We’re confident that his leadership will have a lasting, positive impact on our students and community.”
Geibel has a lifelong connection to athletics, fitness training and football, going back to his days as a standout athlete at Tusky Valley and three-year starting quarterback at Heidelberg.
A resident of Dalton for the last eight years, along with his wife Kristin and three children, the family operates Reid’s Sports Complex, a multipurpose training facility in Orrville.
The Geibels’ three children are all sports-minded. Brady is graduating from Garaway this spring and has earned a football scholarship to Furman, Sara is a rising junior and three-sport standout at Dalton, and Matthew will be a fifth-grader in the fall.
Geibel served as an assistant coach on Broc Dial’s staff at Dalton from 2017-22 and at his alma mater, Tusky Valley, in 2015-16.
“This is an exciting opportunity,” Geibel said. “I’ve been in this Dalton community now for eight years, six of them in a coaching capacity. I have a sports training business that I will continue to operate. I have trained a lot of these kids and also kids from the surrounding areas.
“I’ve always wanted to be a varsity head football coach, and hopefully, I can bring stability to the program from a coaching perspective. I had taken the last two years off of coaching and wanted to get back into it. This opportunity came up, and I received a lot of support from the Dalton community.”
Dalton football reached a state championship game for the first time in school history in 2023, finishing as Division VII state runner-up with a 13-2 record. After the season Dial opted to step down and wound up taking over at Tuslaw.
Ray Leek led the Bulldogs to a 10-4 record last fall in his only season at the helm but left in April to accept the Wooster football job.
“The players at Dalton, they all work hard, and they’re good kids,” Geibel said. “They want to be pushed, and they want to be challenged. I’ve noticed that in the two weeks of the weight room sessions that I’ve had with them, they want more, and that’s really exciting to see.”
Dalton will have a small senior class with just five players, but Geibel said they are talented and work extremely hard. There’s a big junior class led by returning starting quarterback Carter Hignight.
Geibel said he will learn more about his team before committing to a specific offensive or defensive scheme. He’s waiting for his assistant coaches to be approved by the board, but he expects to have two former head coaches on the staff.
“When you’re a small school, it’s gonna go by the talent that you have and kids returning, whether you’re gonna maybe throw the ball a little bit more or maybe be more of a run team,” he said. “We’ll find those things out in June.
“I’m very pleased right now where we’re at with the coaching staff and also seeing that these players want to work hard.”